The New Frances Valentine Collection Debuts at Nordstrom

When was the last time you were star struck and couldn’t speak?

I’m not really one of those people, but on this day I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Kate Valentine (Kate Spade). She was debuting her new Frances Valentine Collection of shoes and handbags at the Nordstrom Boca Raton.

I was totally giddy and tongue-tied which is so not like me. But the thing is, I was standing in front of a fashion icon. This was someone who created my first American Designer handbag. It was a big deal to have a Kate Spade bag back in the day. And now she is back with her new accessory collection Frances Valentine.

If you are wondering how she came up with the name, then here is the fashion scoop. The company was founded by Kate Valentine, Andy Spade, Elyce Arons and Paola Venturi. The name Frances Valentine is a combination of Kate’s father and mother’s family names and was chosen to represent their legacies. It’s cool too!

Frances Valentine was created to represent these 4 partners passions and values. Kate, of course, brings her American take on chic to design, Andy his conceptual ideas, Paola her attention to detail and craftsmanship, and Elyce instinct for what works.

If you want to know more scoop..

Kate Valentine grew up in Kansas City.
She met Andy Spade in 1983 at college.
They moved to New York in 1986 where Kate started her career as an accessories editor at Mademoiselle.
She saw that the market lacked practical, stylish handbags so she decided to try her hand at making a smart, well-edited collection.
She and Andy created the company Kate Spade, joined by their mutual friend Elyce Arons, and later by shoe designer Paola Venturi, where Kate was twice honored with the prestigious CFDA award for Best Accessory Designer.
Kate reunites with these same friends and partners to create Frances Valentine.

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